AJ Styles on Shinsuke Nakamura, His Injury, Wrestlemania, and More

USA Today held a recent interview with AJ Styles discussing his thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura, his injury situation, getting to compete at Wrestlemania, and more.

On the topic of Shinsuke Nakamura, Styles stated he considers Nakamura to be one of the greatest ever Japanese stars and someone who deserved to be in the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania 34.

Experience is everything. The first time I met Shinsuke, he was totally, 100 percent different than the guy you see in the ring today – in an absolutely perfect way. This guy has evolved his character and who he is and has become one of the greatest Japanese superstars ever. That’s why he’s fighting for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

While discussing more about Nakamura, Styles stated their upcoming match at Wrestlemania is something fans have wanted to see happen ever since both arrived in the WWE. He also feels their lack of singles matches together in the WWE will make their match at Wrestlemania 34 be very special for fans.

You know what’s great about that is the same thing happened in Japan, and the same thing’s happening here in WWE. That’s a good thing. There are matches that you can have over and over and over again and people will love it, but there are some matches that you wish you had and you never got the opportunity to see it – this is it.

This is the match I think a lot of people wanted to see, and I think we proved that at Money In The Bank. The build-up just to that moment was great… The opportunity to do it at WrestleMania is perfect, and the fact that we haven’t touched in a one-on-one competition? Perfect.

On the topic of his recent injury, Styles revealed he suffered a knee injury but it was not serious enough to jeopardize his status for Wrestlemania. Styles stated he did feel a bit upset his injury became a bigger story than it needed to be and it was taking away the focus from his upcoming match with Nakamura.

A little of nothing. It was just one of those… got hit in the back of the knee. I think it scared more people than it actually scared me. I knew I was going to make it to WrestleMania, there’s nothing wrong with me.

Yeah, I mean it really does bother me because they don’t know the extent of it. They started worrying, more than anything, which I appreciate that, but it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to wait to hear the facts and information before you get so worked up about something. It is what it is, and we can’t stop this from happening, but why don’t we hear from the guy who actually has the issue before we jump to conclusions and get worried?

On the topic of competing in Wrestlemania, Styles stated the atmosphere is something that is very tough to explain in words.

I wish I could describe it to you. This is the reason why so many performers go longer than they probably should of, is because of that feeling when you walk out on that stage into a sea of people. And it’s so loud, and the stadium’s so big, that when you get in the ring you can’t even hear them. It sounds crazy, but it is an awesome, awesome experience.

Other topics discussed included his thoughts on heading into Wrestlemania as WWE champion and the upcoming Smackdown Women’s Championship match between Asuka and champion Charlotte.